Fiber reinforced synthetic resin structures, such as carbon fiber reinforced laminates may be formed by laying multiple plies of tape or fabric over a tool, and then compacting the layup using any of several known techniques. In the case of tape, the fibers are unidirectional, while the fabrics typically include two sets of fibers that may be either woven or knitted, extending at pre-selected angles relative to a reference direction.
The sequence and orientation of the plies may determine, at least in part, the mechanical properties of the final structure, including rigidity and stiffness. These mechanical properties also may be affected by the tooling used to produce structural features, such as stepped and/or curved surfaces. Where the reinforcing fibers possess a relatively high modulus and are therefore relatively stiff, the fibers may not conform to tooling features, such as stepped surfaces. As a result, some of the fibers may bridge-over certain features of the tooling, resulting in plies in the area of the bridging that may be less than fully compacted, thus reducing the performance of the finished laminate.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method of fabricating fiber reinforced structures having stepped or uneven surfaces that solves the problems discussed above. Illustrated embodiments of the disclosure are intended to provide this solution.